Contents

Plot Summary

Teaser

Jonny saves the whale

Jonny paraglides over the ocean, pulled by Jessie and Hadji on the Questor's Whaler. The three head back to the Questor due to a growing squall. Beneath the waves, several whales navigate the shallow waters, and one becomes lodged in a net. Jonny spots it from the paraglider, and disengages to plunge into the water and survey the damage. He finds the trapped whale and frees the net from its tail, only to be captured by it as it drifts towards him. He's able to snap the net and swim upwards, but quickly tires and loses consciousness.

Act One

Surd connects to the whale songs

Jessie and Hadji find his downed parasail, and Jessie goes in once Hadji attaches a lifeline to her vest. A whale meanwhile pushes Jonny to the surface, where he's rescued by Jessie. Hadji pulls them in, and gives Jonny CPR with Jessie; he spits up water and recovers. Some distance away within a container on a barge, Jeremiah Surd, Lorenzo, and Julia begin a Questworld experiment; Surd believes that cetaceans communicate through a "sonic internet" and wants to tap into it. In virtual reality, Surd latches on to a whale with his hands, then orders Julia to lower several microphones into the water. Surd is then able to sink completely into the virtual reality whale, achieving control over the marine sonic internet, used by marine life worldwide to communicate. He causes a dolphin to attack an old fisherman, a whale to overturn a yacht, and show dolphins to attack their trainer.

He disengages, and Lorenzo and Julia celebrate by offering the idea of killing the Quests, who are on vacation in Hawaii. Dr. Quest and Hadji meanwhile ride the whaler out to listen for cetacean sounds, while Jonny and Jessie discover an underwater cave. The previously-trapped whale is nearby, and allows Jonny and Jessie to ride its fin. Surd approaches in the barge, and deploys the microphone, orchestrating an attack on the whaler by a pod of dolphins Dr. Quest had been observing. Hadji and Dr. Quest notice an immediate change in behavior as Hadji picks up the signal in his headphones. The dolphins knock a hole in the hull, and Hadji steers it to shore. The whale with Jonny and Jessie attacks them underwater, splitting them up. Jonny runs out of air and surfaces, but Jessie is unaccounted for, her scuba equipment sitting on the ocean floor in tatters.

Act Two

Race asks Havell for help

The whaler reaches Jonny, who requests a fresh air tank to search for Jessie. In the underwater cave, Jessie surfaces and finds a discarded plastic jug, which she puts a piece of her clothing in and lets surface as a sign of life. Jonny sets out from the Questor in a jetski, while Dr. Quest takes to the skies in the Minichopper. Jonny finds the discarded jug, and escapes the pursuing whales by grabbing the Minichopper's pontoon. Back on the Questor, Dr. Quest contacts Race, who's five hours from their position in the PBY Catalina. Dr. Quest asks Race to track down Captain Havell (from East of Zanzibar), while Hadji tracks the strange sound signals to Surd's ship off the coast of Madagascar. Later that day, Dr. Quest creates a diversion for the whales by piloting the Questor; Jonny and Hadji go beneath the water's surface in the Sea Slug to save Jessie.

Jonny sets out in scuba gear and finds her in the cave, but the whale smash the Questor's starboard hull above. Race is able to locate Captain Havell, giving him Surd's sonic signature and promising that he'll owe a huge favor. Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji try to escape pursuing whales in the Sea Slug, but eventually surface the vessel and abandon ship. Near Madagascar, Captain Havell finds Surd's barge and fires a torpedo. The barge is immediately disabled and starts to sink amidst fires and explosions; Surd narrowly escapes as a Chinook helicopter launches and uses a magnetic detachment to pull away the Questworld equipment container. The whales cease their harassment of the Quests, and at sunset, the team reunite with Race and express thanks for Havell's intervention.

Notes

Quotes

The team reunite

Surd - "Once again, I amaze myself with my technological abilities."

~

Race - "How the heck am I supposed to find Havell and his sub?"

Dr. Quest - "Race, you're the best-connected man in the maritime service! Get on the horn. Just find him!"